Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Hi! I'm back after not posting for a long time. Its nice to be back! Please pardon me if I'm a bit rusty...

Today I am sharing a project that Jason and I did together for our little Livia, who just happens to be six months old now. *sniff, sniff* She's growing up so fast!

One of our final projects for Livia's room was to make her a mobile to hang above her crib. We decided to make her a birdhouse mobile because her room has a subtle outdoorsy theme. Her grandma Carol also has a love for birdhouses, so it made it even more special and sentimental.

Here's how we did it. We purchased a 2'' x 2'' poplar square, a square dowel, and some eye screw hooks from our home store. The 2'' x 2'' poplar square would be used to make the actual birdhouses. To make the rooftop of the birdhouses, Jason cut the poplar square at a 45 degree angle on two of the sides with his table saw.

He made a series of cuts on the poplar square with his table saw every two inches to make each individual birdhouse. To make the hole in each birdhouse, Jason used his router and a 1/4'' straight router bit. After the birdhouses were cut and the holes were drilled, I sanded them to make them smooth and to soften the sharp edges a bit.

I then painted each birdhouse in the colors that we decorated Livia's room with, which were taken from the inspiration paper in the picture below. To give her something to look at while she is in her crib, I painted the bottom of each birdhouse as well. Jason then screwed a small eye screw hook in the top.

To make the top of the mobile, Jason used the small square dowel which he cut in half. Each half measures 12'' and was notched halfway through so that they would fit together. He used wood glue and a small nail to hold them together. This was sanded smooth and painted as well.

To attach the birdhouses to the top portion, Jason drilled small holes in the ends and the middle of the top portion and used fishing line to hang them. The fishing line was knotted at the top to secure each birdhouse. The mobile was hung from the ceiling with a hook and a fishing swivel so that the mobile could spin freely without getting tangled.

Here are some more pictures of the finished product.

Livia really loves her mobile, which makes us pretty happy. It was a fun and easy project to work on together for our little girl. We hope you like it, too!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

It was difficult for me to get rid of the blue walls and the boyish touches this room had for the past six and a half years. It wasn't that I truly loved the way this nursery looked anymore since my style had changed a bit since our two boys were babies. This room just held such special memories for me and Jason. Two sweet little boys spent many nights sleeping in this room, and it was difficult having to change it.

However, in my opinion, putting together a sweet little room for a babe on the way is one of the most fun things about being pregnant and waiting for your little one to arrive. Since we were expecting our first little girl, the room needed to be changed. I found some paper on a whim at my favorite paper store here in town. When I first saw it, I knew those would be my inspiration colors for our baby girl's room.

Since Jason installed a chair rail in the room before Henry was born, I decided to go with a gray color on the bottom half and white on top to keep it clean and simple. We have been slowly painting the trim and doors in our home, so the trim, built ins, and doors were painted white in this room as well. The name of the gray color on the bottom half of the room is Woodlawn Colonial Gray by Valspar.

I did not have a budget for this room when redoing it, but my goal was to spend as little money as possible. This was pretty easy since all of the furniture was used by the boys and would be staying in the room. The green rug was taken from the boys' room as the color of the rug fit with my color scheme. I did spend a bit of money on the animal flashcards from Anthropologie, a gray crib sheet from Target, and I made the pillow from a remnant fabric and some pom pom fringe I found at Joann Fabrics. The baskets were all purchased at TJ Maxx and add a natural feel and warmth to the room. I also needed to purchase a new lampshade for the lamp. Other than that, everything was made by Jason and me or taken from other rooms in our home.

The garland was made by Henry, Oliver, and me. We took wooden beads of various sizes and painted them in colors that I picked out of the inspiration paper. The paint is Martha Stewart craft paint and was purchased at Michaels. The names of the colors are Cloud, Ballet Slipper, Putting Green, Blue Sky, and Geranium. It was originally intended to become a mobile of sorts above the changing table, but I couldn't make it look the way I wanted to so I decided to drape it over the window in the alcove to add a pop of color there. We are currently working on a mobile to place above the crib in the room which we hope to share with you soon.

The artwork for the room was kept pretty simple. I used some IKEA frames I had on hand and framed some of the inspiration paper. I also cut out a little fawn shape using the same paper and framed that as well. Two of the pictures were taken from a calendar that I liked and held special meaning. The picture of the barn is particularly sentimental because Livia was born in Wisconsin. I made the mushroom, wreath, and camping pictures by cutting simple shapes out of paper and then framed them. Finally, the framed quote is a German prayer my grandpa taught me that I hold dear.

To add some warmth to the room, natural elements such as wicker baskets, driftwood, and the lamp were used. They add shades of brown that tie in nicely with the wood floor. The beaded garland the boys and I made adds some warmth and color as well.

Finally, the wooden shadowbox shelves were made by Jason. I painted them white and then painted the backs of each box to make them stand out from the wall. I filled them with some driftwood we found on a beach when we were waiting for our baby girl to arrive, some Babushka dolls made by her godmother, some clay mushrooms I made and painted, and other little treasures.

The light fixtures in the room are sentimental because they were used by Jason and me when we were little. Again, the wood lamp brings in some warmth and the ceiling light works with the colors used in the room.

Other simple touches make this room special as well. We can't wait to make many sweet memories in here with our baby girl.

Welcome home, Livia Eveline! We love you and are so thankful to God that you are here!

Thank you for letting us share our baby girl's room with you!If you have any questions about anything in the room, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email and I'll be happy to answer them for you!